Trent's Return
by mediahybrid117
Summary: "Attention students: In about a week, Trent Boyett will be released from juvenile hall. He will have a month of house arrest before he starts attending high school. If you are Broflovski, Marsh, Cartman or McCormick, meet me at the back of the school after classes. This is not a threat. This is a warning." -This has an OC as a main part, don't like, don't read. Rated T cause SP-
1. Chapter 1

**_Attention students:_**

 ** _In about a week, Trent Boyett will be released from juvenile hall. He will have a month of house arrest before he starts attending high school._**

 ** _If you are Broflovski, Marsh, Cartman or McCormick, meet me at the back of the school after classes._**

 ** _This is not a threat._**

 ** _This is a warning._**

Stan read the neon orange notice on the wall. It was plastered all over campus. His eyes widened and his body had run cold at the ominous message. Whoever posted this _knew_ he had something to do with Trent's arrest. He quickly checked his phone for the time. It was about twenty minutes after school was out. He had to stay to collect whatever work he was missing, considering he'd started school late that particular day. He read a text that had been sent by Kenny.

" _Dude, you almost here?_ "

Stan took a deep breath and ran down the hall, he hoped the meeting wasn't over yet. Knowing Kenny, he wouldn't let them start without him. He burst out the back doors and locked eyes with Kyle and Cartman, who both glared at him. He sank as his stomach dropped. He sheepishly sat beside Kenny and a brunette girl with blue highlights.

"Well, look who finally joined the party." Cartman nudged Kyle. "Welcome, weak and silent." Kyle only rolled his eyes.

"Shut it, Eric." The brunette hissed, crossing her arms.

"Is everyone here?" a new voice asked. A girl stood in front of them and was scrolling through her phone. Stan barely noticed her.

The girl pocketed her device and looked up, eyeing the five people sitting before her. "Okay, now we can get started." She announced.

Cartman rose a hand and stopped her, "Before anything else, just who _the fuck_ are you?" he asked. The young man was heavyset, and clearly not one for exercise. His hair was combed back. He wore a light grey hoodie and a pair of light blue jeans.

"And how do you know we were involved with Trent Boyett?" Kyle followed up. He stopped wearing a hat about two years ago, having stopped caring about what people thought about his red hair and allowed for it to grow out. He now wore it pulled back into a ponytail. To keep with his color scheme, he now wore an olive green turtleneck sweater with a pair of brown cargos.

"My name is Carrie." She said, "I'm the one in charge of Trent when he gets out of Juvee." She continued, "I've called you guys here because whatever you guys did to _piss him off_ …" she started, "You are in serious trouble." she looked at the boys, all sharing the same concerned look, Kenny's girlfriend included, "He's planning revenge. And knowing him, there will be _no_ talking sense into him. He's not planning on taking any high road." Her stern, grey eyes looked over the group. Her hair was shaved on the sides, leaving a long, dark brown- almost black- tuft of hair on the top. She had several piercings on her ears and even one eyebrow piercing. She wore a black undershirt with a short, denim jacket and a pair of olive green cargo pants and black combat boots.

Kenny rose his hand, "In charge, how?" he asked, "Are you his babysitter or something?" he asked. He wore a plain orange sweater and a pair of brown heavy-duty jeans, a pair one would wear if they worked in a factory.

"That's not important-"

"I think it is." Cartman cut her off, "Y'know, credibility and all that crap."

Carrie rolled her eyes, "It's a relationship I resent, and I would rather not talk about it."

"Oh, fuck- you're his _girlfriend_!" Cartman pointed.

Carrie narrowed her eyes dangerously, "I will kick you in the fucking teeth if you _ever_ accuse me of that again." She snarled. " _If_ you dumbasses _must_ know- Trent motherfucking Boyett is my older, half-brother, that I really couldn't give two shits about." She snapped.

There was a moment of silence. The groups' jaws dropped, Kenny's girlfriend covered her mouth. The silence was finally broken, "Oh fuck…" Cartman groaned.

"Why are you telling us this?" Kyle asked slowly.

"I've called you guys here because I need to make sure you guys can defend yourselves in the event of an ambush. I can't sit back when my asshole brother gets of out prison and just _let_ him kill you guys." She explained, "Let's start with names." She started with the teen at her farthest right.

"Kyle Broflovski." Kyle rose his hand.

"Eric Cartman." He crossed his arms and leaned back on the table he and Kyle sat at.

"Jennifer Simmons." The brunette rose her hand, "I don't know Trent, but Kenny's told me about him and I want to help in anyway I can." She said. She wore a light blue hoodie and a pair of dark blue jeans.

Carrie nodded and looked at the blonde sitting next to here, "And you're Kenny?"

"Kenny McCormick." He confirmed.

Carrie looked at Stan, who turned red and glanced briefly at Kenny. He was the only one wearing a hat, his black bangs peeked from under the rim of the red and grey beanie with a red fuzzy ball at the top. The blue jacket with a grey hood made him look small, his hunched posture didn't help much either.

"Uh, this is Stan Marsh." Kenny said, "He can't talk." He said. "He does sign though, Jen and I can translate."

Carrie nodded awkwardly, "Okay… guys, so I'm going to teach you guys how to defend yourselves against Trent. He's going to fight dirty, and-"

"I already know how to defend myself." Cartman cut her off.

"Can you throw a punch?" Carried asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, duh." Cartman scoffed.

"Well, bring it. Show me what you've got." She said, taking a step back and waving him over.

Cartman stood up and took off his hoodie, showing a white undershirt underneath. "Now, how hard do you want me to punch? I don't want to hit a girl." He asked.

"If I was worried about gender profiling, I wouldn't have warned you guys about Trent and let you guys fend for yourselves." She said, "As hard as you fucking can, got it? Bring it on." She taunted.

Cartman cocked his head to the side for a second and wound up a punch. Once he released the punch, Carrie caught it under her arm, trapping the rest of his arm, and sent a quick jab into his jaw, then turned and dropped him in the snow faster than he could blink. He stared at the sky wide-eyed, beginning to question the meaning of life.

Carrie motioned to the shocked lump on the ground, "And _that's_ why I called you here. Though Trent is a brawler and fights like a thug, he knows _this_ shit, too. Any questions?"

Kyle stifled a laugh after watching Carrie lay Cartman flat.

Kenny rose his hand, "Are we starting now? Or… y'know, considering you just flattened the fatass."

"Nope, just proving a point." She said, "Meet me here tomorrow, _then_ we'll get started." She picked up her backpack and walked off.

The remaining four exchanged puzzled looks, then Kyle shook his head and ran after Carrie. His keys jingled noisily as he chased her. "Hey- wait- why should we-?"

Carrie whipped around, stopping the redhead short, "I don't want to see anyone get hurt. I don't want to see anyone _die_ because my brother has an age-old grudge that he'd _kill_ for." She snapped. "I asked the cops to keep him, because that fucker can rot in jail for all I care." She growled through her teeth. "But the cops _won't_ keep him, so that's why I'm trying to _help_ you guys."

Kyle was silent for a while. His green eyes trailing down to the ground, "Uh…" he scratched the back of his neck, "I we were doing lessons- think it'd be possible if we did private lessons?" he asked.

She glared at him, "No." she said flatly.

"No, no! it's not like _that_!" he waved his hands, "You see- I haven't really spoken to Stan in almost a year, and Cartman in three up until about a week ago. We don't exactly get along anymore."

Carrie leaned on one leg and crossed her arms impatiently.

"We're not really friends anymore. Except Stan and Kenny, and by extension, Jennifer."

"Listen- I don't want to sound insensitive here, but… tough shit." She huffed, "Whatever history you have with each other, you need to resolve it. The four, or _five_ of you guys have _one_ common enemy here." She narrowed her eyes, " _That's_ what you guys should be worried about."

Kyle looked up at her, then took a deep breath, "R-Right…" he sighed, "I'll uh… I'll see you tomorrow." He walked off.

Carrie shook her head, taking one more brief look at the remaining teenagers sitting at the table. Stan was signing frantically, and Kenny held up his hands trying to calm down Stan. Jennifer sat next to Kenny, and Cartman had finally snapped out of his daze and gone home. She turned and started for home.

..xxXxx..

Kenny watched Stan's motions, trying to keep track of his motions as his hands shook and his eyes darted back and forth across the table. It was beginning to make him dizzy. "Stan!" he finally grabbed his wrists, "Calm down!" he listened to his friend start to hyperventilate.

"Stanley, look at me." Jennifer called gently.

Stan's nervous slate-blue eyes looked up at her.

"Take a deep breath, okay?" she instructed, breathing in through her nose, and exhaling from her mouth. "Come on."

Stan inhaled through his mouth and letting out a deep breath. Jennifer encouraged him to take three deep breaths before Stan shuddered, his body quit shaking.

"I'm just as scared as you are." Kenny reassured him.

"And if Kyle _or_ Cartman starts shit- we'll back you up." Jennifer smiled.

Stan nodded and pulled his hands away from Kenny, resting his forehead in his palms.

"You good?" Kenny asked him.

Stan nodded, " _Sorry about that._ " He signed.

"It's okay. Dinner on me tonight! How's that?" She offered.

"No way!" Kenny protested, "You paid for dinner _last_ time. It's my turn!"

"You…" Jennifer poked his ribs, "Need to be saving your money, _mister_ , if you plan on moving out in a few months and supporting Karen." She jabbed and watched Kenny jolt with each poke.

Kenny finally grabbed Jennifer's hand and stopped her from tickling him, "I _am_ saving my money." He said proudly. "I just thought it'd be nice if _I_ treated you guys for a change." He shrugged.

Stan began signing. " _Haven't you been working overtime all week_?"

"All week." Kenny confirmed, it brought him joy to talk about work, unlike most people his age. "I'm only here now because I got the day off today and tomorrow."

Stan shrugged, " _I'll pay, my treat._ " He signed, insisting.

"Nope- it's on me and it's final." Kenny crossed his arms, "And there's nothing you guys can do about it."

..xxXxx..

The following day before classes, Carrie sat on a bench beside Wendy Testaburger. The young woman was applying makeup and gossiping about Bebe. Carrie finally cut her off, "What's the deal between Stan and Kyle?" she asked.

Wendy paused, "I can only assume you mean Marsh and Broflovski." She sighed, "Stan stole Kyle's girlfriend and cheated on me with _her_."

"You and Stan dated?" Carrie asked.

"Mm-hmm. But… since that day he cheated on me, I haven't spoken to him." She said, "And he's _begged_." She sighed. "Why do you ask, anyway?" Wendy checked the mirror in her foundation.

"I was with them yesterday. Kyle mentioned that they didn't get along." Carrie said.

"Oh, yeah? And what did Stan say?" she showed very little interest.

"Nothing?" Carrie gave her an odd look, "He can't talk?"

Wendy almost dropped her makeup, "He's mute?" she looked at her.

Carrie flinched, "I guess? He signs and I guess Kenny McCormick and Jennifer Simmons understand him."

Wendy looked out in shock and disbelief, "I didn't realize he's mute now…" she said.

"He could talk before?" Carrie asked.

"Oh, yeah. He used to lead rallies, protests, he used to sing and play guitar… you know he's an animal rights activist?" she asked, her eyes seeming to light up, "He loves animals."

"I just barely met him yesterday." Carrie shook her head.

Wendy scoffed, "Where have _you_ been?" she asked, " _Everybody_ at this point knows Stan Marsh. If not, then at _least_ Eric Cartman." She scowled.

"I _barely_ knew about Eric." Carrie leaned away. "I was homeschooled up until about a month ago."

"Fight in the courtyard!" a shorter, seemingly sheltered teen ran through the food court, "Marsh and Broflovski are fighting again!" he shouted and pointed outside. Carrie only recognized him as a classmate of hers, Leo Stotch, or as some students called him, 'Butters'.

"That's Stan and Kyle." Wendy rolled her eyes and began to put her makeup away.

Carrie jumped up and ran along with other, more excited students. As she stepped out the double doors, a crowd of young adults all chanted and cheered, "Fight, fight, fight!"

Kenny tried to jump into the ring, trying to push passed a couple of larger students, "No, stop!" he barked as the two larger students held his arms back. "Kyle! Let him go!"

Carrie elbowed her way through the group, finally reaching the clearing. Kyle had Stan's head and neck caught under his arm, his forearm pressing into the mute's throat and punching his head with the other hand. Stan struggled to back out of the headlock, but had no luck. Carrie stepped forward and caught another punch aimed at Stan and punched Kyle's stomach.

Upon impact, Kyle doubled over and held his stomach, releasing Stan and leaving him gasping for breath.

The courtyard was silenced. Students watched Carrie in silence.

Kenny was finally released. He ran into the circle and helped Stan to his feet, glaring at Kyle.

Carrie looked at Kyle, "What did I tell you yesterday?" she snarled.

Kyle coughed and gasped, "He started it…"

Kenny growled, "Bullshit."

"I don't give a shit who started it." Carrie glared at the redhead. His hair was down and a complete mess, falling over his back and shoulders like a mane. He hadn't had the chance to pull it back just yet. "Your little feud _better_ come to an end if you plan on surviving Trent in a month."

Kyle stood up and stormed off, wiping his face and holding his stomach. The rest of the crowd dispersed. "Thanks… Carrie, right?" Kenny asked, Stan hung over his shoulder.

"Yeah, is he okay?" Carrie nodded.

Kenny carefully sat him down. "You doing okay?"

Stan signed sloppily, then he grabbed his head, wincing in pain.

Kenny's eyebrows shot up, "Really?"

"What'd he say?" Carrie asked.

"What'd you do?" Kenny asked.

Stan signed again, clearer this time.

Kenny rolled his eyes, "He said that he started it. Kyle was right." He explained, "Stan shoved him when Kyle walked by him."

Carrie sighed, then looked at Stan, "You've got a bigger problem now." She said, "Not to lecture you after you got your ass kicked by Kyle, but come on…" she said, "I kinda _need_ you guys to get along if I'm going to be training you guys." She grabbed his arm, "Let's get you to the nurse's office."

Kenny took his other arm and helped him stand up.

**Oh my gosh, _FictionPress_ was more cooperative than this. I've been trying to get the stupid page loaded for at least twenty minutes. Anyway, welcome to the first installment of the boys' shenanigans, but now they have a couple new buddies. I _will_ explain why Stan's mute in this, just... give the story time. I've not expecting this to be longer than seven chapters? Ten max. Anyway, R&R, lemme know what y'all think of this! Stay awesome folks!**


	2. Chapter 2

Carrie pinched the bridge of her nose. The group in front of her sat in a row, keeping Stan- littered with a bruise under his eye, a cut over the other eye and a split lower lip- as far away from Kyle, who only had a bruise on his jaw.

There was a moment of silence between the six. Carrie sighed, "Kyle, Stan, for the love of _god_ , I need you to-" she groaned. "Okay- you two need to have some sort of _truce_? Some sort of fucking _vow_ that you two dumbasses won't fucking fight and try to kill each other while we're doing this, okay? Or- god forbid- use these moves against each other."

Kyle nodded, "Yes ma'am…"

Stan nodded as well.

"No- both of you fucking stand up." She waved her arms in frustration, motioning them to stand up. The two rivals stood, "Stand right fucking here." She pointed at the ground in front of her, "Fucking shake hands and say 'truce' okay? Stan, I don't give a shit if you have to _sign_ it, just fucking make peace with each other whether it be temporary or permanent, I don't fucking care, just do it."

Stan and Kyle stood in front of Carrie, arms-length apart, and faced each other. At this point, they were more scared of Carrie popping a blood vessel in frustration. They shook hands, "Truce." Kyle said, Stand nodding in sync. Once they let go, Stan did a quick, small, gesture. One that Carrie could only assume meant 'truce'.

"I now pronounce you, Jew and Hippie." Cartman laughed.

"Eric, I am _not_ in the mood for any _fucking_ around right now." Carrie warned him, "I'll put you on your ass again."

"That was a fluke." Cartman waved it off.

"It was _not_ , Cartman." Kyle snapped, "We all know it, you can't lie to us."

"Go sit down." She pat the rivals' shoulders. "Now, let me make _one_ thing clear." Carrie started, "I don't want to hear about you guys getting in trouble because you're using what _I_ taught you to pick fights. This is meant _only_ to defend yourselves. Understand?" she growled.

"Yes, ma'am." Kyle and Cartman agreed simultaneously, while Kenny nodded with an 'okay' and Stan gave a thumbs-up.

"Okay, now that we have _that_ fucking established, do any of you guys _actually_ know how to fight?" she asked, "Because I forgot to ask about that yesterday and obviously if Stan and Kyle fight _all_ the damn time, I'm starting to feel pretty stupid for not asking yesterday in the first place." She crossed her arms. "If you do and don't need lessons, speak now or forever hold your fucking peace." She pointed at Cartman, "Eric, you don't _fucking_ count."

Kenny rose his hand, "I do." He rose his hand, "I was Mysterion for a while." He confessed, "After that I joined a fight club and now I'm kicking bullies' asses that fuck with my little sister." He said, leaning back and crossing his arms.

"You were Mysterion?" Carrie asked, "Really?" she asked.

"I do too." Kyle rose his hand, "My little brother is taking karate classes and he wanted me to go with him."

Stan began signing after he tapped Kenny's arm. Kenny looked up at Carrie after Stan was done, "He said that learned how to defend himself after living with Shelly for so long."

"Who's Shelly?" Carrie asked.

"His older sister." Kyle, Cartman, Jennifer, and Kenny each answered.

Carrie's eyebrows rose, "Jesus…" she breathed, "Eric?"

"I've fought a midget and won." He started.

"You lost." Kyle corrected him.

"I've fought Wendy Testaburger and won."

Kenny and Kyle burst into laughter. Stan covered his mouth and snorted painfully. Jennifer could only look at them without a clue as to why they laughed so hard.

Carrie looked at them, "Okay, _obviously,_ you lost that one." She said.

"She destroyed him!" Kyle cackled.

"Okay, guys, enough." Carrie urged. "Anything else?" she asked.

Cartman thought for a while, "I was the Coon." He added.

Carrie shuddered, "Oh great- basically _none_ of you need self-defense training." She sighed and crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall. "Okay then…"

"So wait- how do _you_ know how to fight?" Kyle asked.

"My dad took me to self-defense classes. Didn't want people messing with his little girl and big brother's always in jail." Carrie answered, "Plus I watch a _lot_ of Kung Fu movies."

"Nice!" Kenny smiled and cheered.

"Kenny, you fucking weeaboo trash." Cartman scoffed.

"Said the kid who 'killed' his dolls dramatically and buried them in the backyard." Kenny jabbed back at him.

"What's _that_ got to do with it, _Princess_ Kenny." He bit back and crossed his arms.

The blonde burst into laughter, "Wow, I _almost_ forgot about _that_ one." He chuckled, "At least my superhero persona wasn't a superhero _fur_ sona." He taunted.

"Hey- fuck you! You were _actually_ a Japanese princess, which makes you a Japanese anime fucking _nerd_!"

"Jesus Christ, you guys, _enough_!" Carrie snapped, "Besides- if anyone here is fucking anime weeaboo trash- it's me." She clarified, pointing at herself.

The others looked up at her with shock. Kyle rose an eyebrow, "Can you elaborate?"

Carrie cleared her throat and began counting on her fingers, "No friends. No life. I watch anime _religiously_. I read manga. I write fanfiction and draw hentai." She listed off, "Again, I watch Kung Fu movies, I play the anime fighting games- _with_ the Japanese dub, by the way. And on top of it, I listen to J-pop." She explained.

The group was dumbfounded. Kenny slapped his knee twice, "She wins!" he announced.

Cartman stared at her, his eyes widened, "Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked, but the question was unheard due to Kenny and Jennifer asking Carrie about her favorite anime and favorite manga. Questions of what kind of fanfiction she wrote and what kind of hentai she drew were thrown around as well.

Kyle couldn't help but to laugh, "Damn, she totally blew you guys out of the water, didn't she?" he chuckled.

"Shut up, Kyle." Cartman grumbled.

Kyle smiled and stood up, "I have to pick up my brother from school." He said and approached Carrie, "Hey- think I could get your number? In case we ever want to hang out." he asked and held up his phone.

"Sure!" Carrie nodded and added her number to his contacts. "There…" she handed him back his phone, "Just text me and let me know it's you. I got Kenny and Jennifer's numbers, too." She informed.

"No problem. Thank you." He smiled and walked off, as he walked away, Cartman hopped up and asked for her number as well.

"Carrie, we're giving Stan your number, that okay?" Jennifer called out.

"Of course!" Carrie nodded, after typing her number into Cartman's phone, she handed it back, "Text me to let you know it's you." She said.

"Sweet!" Cartman beamed, "See you tomorrow, guys!" he called out and walked off, immediately texting the new number.

Kenny, Jennifer and Stan each stood up, waving and walking off, "Later, Carrie!"

Carrie smiled, feeling her phone buzzing in her pocket consistently as she walked home. As she'd expected, Cartman's text had come in first, " _Yo, this is Eric._ " Was what it read. She saved the number and received Jennifer's text next. " _Hi! This is Jennifer Simmons!_ "

At the same time, Kenny's text came in, " _Hey, this is Kenny, want to exchange art some time?_ "

Carrie's curiosity was piqued, "Sure! What do you draw?" she smiled wider.

Her phone buzzed again, " _Nudes. Pin-ups. I draw some animals. My favorites are dragons. I'm kinda into the whole fantasy art style._ " Kenny replied.

She nodded in approval. "Nice. Sure, I'm cool with that. You can come over tomorrow after school and I'll show you my sketchbook." She sent.

" _Can't tomorrow. I have work after school. I can do Saturday though- if you don't mind if Jenny and Stan come too…_ " Kenny suggested.

"Of course!" she tucked her phone back into her pocket and unlocked her front door. She took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The house was empty- and had been for the past month. Since her father mysteriously vanished when he was at work. After calling the office and calling the police, he was nowhere to be seen. She had taken it upon herself to take care of the house in the meantime- doing the laundry, washing the dishes, she even used the emergency credit card to keep the utilities running. She dropped her backpack on the couch and began a new load of laundry. After stuffing the washer and starting it, her phone buzzed again.

" _Hey, this is Kyle. Sorry this is late. Ike and I had to walk home._ "

Carried saved the number and replied, "Uh-oh. Do you normally have a ride?" she asked and went back to the living room, kicking off her shoes and grabbing her backpack.

" _No, not really. We normally have to walk._ " He answered.

Carrie nodded and sat down. "No worries then." She added a smiley face and sent the message. She pulled out her books from her bag and started on her calculus homework- the only homework she was worried about since the rest of it was done in class.

Kyle didn't take long to respond, " _So when did you move here? You're new to the school, aren't you?_ "

"Sort of. I was homeschooled. I've been living in South Park for as long as I can remember. I rarely go outside though, which is probably why you've probably never seen me around." She set the phone down after sending and continued her homework, humming as she sat on the floor in front of the couch. After the six, long, problems that required multiple answers, she was finished and the washer had finished running. While she changed out the laundry, she had received another text.

She shoved the armful of damp laundry into the dryer and started the machine. She pulled out her phone and checked the new message, only realizing just now that Kyle hadn't replied.

" _This is Stanley Marsh… Think I could hang out with you for a bit? It's kinda rough here at home and Kenny's busy._ "

Carrie stared at the text for a while, "Yeah, sure. I can meet you somewhere. Everything okay?" she responded and started back downstairs for her shoes.

" _My parents are fighting again and my sister isn't really good company._ " Stan replied.

She frowned sympathetically, "Okay, meet me at the McDonald's and I'll buy lunch. Sound good?" she sent the message and stepped out of her house, locking the door.

..xxXxx..

"Yes please." Stan texted back. He was already out walking and was a few houses away from his own. He glanced up as he passed an olive-green house, seeing Kyle and his younger brother playing basketball in the driveway. Ike had accidentally dropped the ball and it bounced toward Stan.

Stan stopped in his tracks, tensing up as the ball hit his ankle. Ike stopped once the ball hit Stan's leg. Stan glanced up at Ike and picked up the ball, gently tossing the ball back.

Ike caught the ball and gave Stan the cold shoulder, "Thanks…" he said, "Traitor." He muttered.

"Ike, leave him alone." Kyle scolded him and put a hand against his back, "Let's go inside." He said and led him into the house.

Stan shrunk and kept walking. It didn't take him long to find himself in the lobby of McDonald's. He picked a table in the corner, farthest from the counter. He pulled his hood up and sat down, setting his bag against the seat on the floor in the walkway. He crossed his arms on the table and rested his head in his arms.

The children present at the restaurant screamed and shouted as they ran back and forth through the walkway. Parents could be heard scolding their children, telling them to stop running, quiet down, or sit down and 'shut the hell up'.

Of course, the parents were ignored. Eventually, a five-year-old boy ran by and tripped over Stan's backpack and fell, landing face-first. Stan jumped up and picked up the bag, but the boy was already crying and shrieking.

The boy's mother came to his rescue, "What happened?" she asked, "Honey- what happened?" she asked, standing the boy to his feet and examining him.

"I tripped!" the child screamed.

"Well, what did you trip on?" she asked and wiped his tears away, shooting a quick glare at Stan.

Stan, cursing his luck, watched the boy violently point a finger at him, causing him to flinch. He quickly held up the bag, showing the annoyed mother that Stan didn't go out of his way to hurt the random child.

"Honey-" the mother's expression softened, "Did you trip on his backpack?"

"I think so…" the boy wiped his eyes.

Stan dug around in his pockets and pulled out a small handful of quarters, handing them to the woman. He then signed to her.

She gave him a strange look, then she paused, "Oh- you're mute…" she whispered.

"Make him say sorry!" the child demanded.

"Baby, he can't talk." She quickly explained.

Stan pulled out his phone and typed quickly into the phone's notepad, " _I'm very sorry. Go ahead and get him an ice cream on me._ " He showed her the message.

"Oh-" she squinted to read the message, "Marcus, he gave us these quarters to buy you an ice cream to say sorry." She explained.

The boy lit up as he gasped, "Thank you, mister!" he bounced up and down.

"Thank you very much- so sorry for the trouble." She took her son by the hand and led him away. Once they were gone, Stan sighed and rested his head back into his arms, his bag now occupying the empty seat to his right.

..xxXxx..

Carrie walked into the lobby of the McDonald's and looked around for a moment, hoping she was in the same location that Stan was at. She looked to the far, back left corner and found Stan leaning over one of the tables. His head completely buried in his arms and covered by his hood. She sighed and approached him, gently putting a hand on his shoulder, "Stan?" she called.

Stan jumped and looked up at her wide-eyed. He waved as he stretched.

"Did you fall asleep?" she asked, "Hope I didn't take too long."

Stan shook his head and waved his hand, reassuring her that she was okay.

She sank a little, "Um… what did you want to eat?" she asked.

He thought for a moment, then turned around to look at the menu. He pulled out his phone and texted, showing her the text, _"How much can I get?"_

Carrie smirked, "You could order two large combos and an ice cream and I wouldn't care." She said, "Whatever you want, go ahead." She motioned to the menu board.

He smiled nervously and typed into his phone again, deleting the previous message. _"A large 3 with no onions okay?"_

"Yeah, the combo?"

Stan nodded.

Carrie smiled, "Is that it?"

Stan nodded again.

"Okay," Carrie straightened up, "I'll be right back." She pat his shoulder and walked up to the counter.

Behind the counter at the register was a blonde girl about her age- someone she recognized from her classes. The girl had wavy, blonde hair and her eyes were bright green, "Hi what can I get started for you?" she asked. She didn't seem to be the type to work at a McDonald's.

"Yeah, can I get an large number three with no onions and a twenty piece chicken nuggets with honey mustard please?" Carrie asked.

"Sure, anything else?" the girl asked as she rung up the order on the register.

Carrie glanced down and checked the girl's nametag- Bebe. She couldn't remember her name otherwise. "A large drink, please?"

"Okay…" Bebe hummed, "Is this for here or to go?" she asked.

Carrie turned around to look at Stan, "For here, please."

Bebe looked up and recognized the hooded mute, "Hey- isn't that Stan Marsh?" she asked, her tone asked for trouble.

Carrie gave her a concerned look, "Uh… yeah?"

Bebe scowled, "Hope you're not here on a date with him." She scoffed, "He's a backstabbing cheater."

"Um…" Carrie frowned, "No, we're here as friends. Stuff's bad at his place so he needed to get out of the house." She said, "Shouldn't you be minding your own business on shift and not be talking shit about your customers?" she asked.

Bebe rolled her eyes, "Fine, your total is fifteen thirty-three." she said.

Carrie handed her the debit card, "Are we going to have a problem?" she asked.

Bebe swiped the card and handed it back, then handed her two large cups, "No, just tell that little traitor to enjoy his meal." She grumbled.

Carrie looked at her in disbelief. The glanced around to the rest of the staff, then back to Bebe, "Excuse me? Okay- none of this- where's your manager?" she demanded.

Stan overheard Carrie's agitated tone, and was only able to hear her ask for a manager. He furrowed his eyebrows and turned around to see the commotion. Bebe had paled at Carrie's demand, and was apologizing desperately. The manager walked up and stood beside her, speaking calmly to Carrie. "What seems to be the problem here?"

"Everything's fine! Nothing's wrong, there's no problem!" Bebe cried out.

Stan looked around and saw that other customers were watching the commotion as well.

"No, everything isn't fine, does she _usually_ insult her customers?" Carrie argued.

The manager pinched the bridge of his nose, "What did she say this time?"

"Nothing!"

"I'm trying to order food for me and my friend and she calls him a backstabbing cheater and a traitor!" Carrie growled.

Stan flinched and sunk, he turned back around and tugged on his hood, trying to cover his reddened face further.

The manager groaned, "Bebe, meet me in the back, okay? I'll talk with you in a minute."

"But sir-"

" _Now_ , Bebe."

Bebe looked down at walked away, shooting a glare at Carrie.

"I'm so sorry about her, Ma'am." He started, "Here," he reached into a drawer and handed her two coupons, "These are for buy one, get one combos. Of… equal or lesser value of course… unless- here, let me get your name?"

"Carrie Boyett." Carrie answered and read the coupons.

"Okay Ms. Boyett, if you come in and give us your name, we'll get you a buy one, get one combo regardless of the price." He said. "Again, I'm so sorry about Bebe- this isn't the first time she's done this." he apologized once again, "I'll be sure it never happens again."

"Thank you." Carrie nodded.

"Here, I think this is your order." The manager pushed a tray towards her, "Enjoy your meal." He said.

"Thank you so much." Carrie bowed her head and took the tray and the cups back to Stan's table. She rose an eyebrow and sat down, seeing he was hunched over even more so than he was before, "Hey, are you okay?" she asked.

He showed her the screen on his phone, a message that only read, "You didn't have to do that…" his hand was shaking.

Carrie's expression changed. "Stan… y-yeah- I…" she stammered, putting a hand over his and lowering it, "Stan, she was insulting you. I wasn't about to stand there and let a friend get insulted. Besides it's shitty customer service- who knows who else she's doing it to." She watched him for a while, "Stan, look at me." She urged.

Stan didn't move, he only took his phone back under the table, then showed her a new screen a few seconds later. _"But it's true. She wasn't wrong in calling me that."_

Carrie frowned, "Look, whether it's fact or not, she didn't _have_ the right to call you that. It's rude. If I heard someone calling you that stuff at school, you bet your ass I'll raise hell on _them_ too." She explained.

Stan took a deep breath and let it go. He withdrew his phone again and replaced the message, _"What do you think?"_

Carrie rested a hand on the phone and lowered it to the table again, feeling him slightly tense, "I don't even know the whole story. Just some drama between you, Kyle, Wendy and whoever Kyle's girlfriend was. And know what? I don't care." She said, "I'm a neutral party. It's not really my business." She said, "Just- look at me? Please?" she asked again.

Stan hesitated before looking up at her.

She offered him a smile, "Whether or not it is true, whether you cheated or you were cheated on- I'll still be your friend." She smiled, "You, and the others are kinda the first I've had in a long time… ever." She explained, "No matter what I've got your back, okay?"

Stan sighed and looked down for a moment, then nodded and straightened up, stretching in the process. He relaxed and took his phone back, thinking a moment before typing, _"You consider me a friend?"_ he showed her the phone.

She smiled, "Sure. Why not?" she said, then she handed him one of the cups, "Come on, let's get some drinks." She said and stood up and started for the fountain machine.

Stan grabbed her jacket before she got to far and held up a finger, telling her to wait a moment. He typed into his phone again and showed her, _"Thank you. That means more to me than you think."_

Carrie smiled, "Of course, Stan." She said, "Now, let's go." She tugged on his sleeve.

He stood up and stretched his legs, then followed her to the soda machine. After dispensing their drinks, they sat back down and began eating. Stan typing into his phone again and showed her the screen, _"You, Kenny and Jenny really hit it off earlier."_

She blushed, "Yeah, we did, didn't we?" she smiled.

Stan smiled and typed again, _"We don't have a lot of anime people at our school, so it made the really happy to have met you. Kenny's happy be met another anime artist, too."_

Carrie smiled wider, "I feel awkward that I draw hentai, though." She said.

Stan scoffed and pulled his phone back. After a second he showed her a new message, _"I've seen Kenny's drawings, he's used playboys for practice and references. He doesn't mind the hentai, trust me."_

Carrie laughed, "Is he any good?" she asked.

Stan gave her risen eyebrow and a sure look, typing, _"He's the best I've seen."_ Into his phone.

Carrie shrugged, "Just asking. He mentioned he does nudes. But he does dragons and shit, too. He wants to do an art trade."

Stan nodded in confirmation.

"You watch anime?" she asked.

Stan bobbed his head from side to side, taking another large bite from his burger. _"Rarely, and only at Jenny's."_ he typed.

"Why rarely?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes and typed into the phone, setting down the sandwich type with both hands, _"Jenny's brother doesn't really like Kenny. He thinks he's dirty or a bad influence… either that or he doesn't like the idea of his baby sister seeing any guys, he doesn't exactly like me, either. So Jenny only ever invites us over if Ed is out of town."_

Carrie shrugged, "I live alone. Or… at least until Trent comes home in a week. You guys are welcome to come invade whenever you guys want to." She offered, "You guys can watch whatever you guys want. I'm not picky." She said.

Stan crumpled the wrapper for his burger and typed, _"That'd be great- thank you."_

"And I'll show you where I'm at, too. That way you know where to go." She explained.

Stan nodded and started eating his fries.

She thought for a while, "So what's going on at home?" she asked, "You said that your parents are arguing and your sister isn't good company."

Stan rolled his eyes and typed into his phone. This was a long text, _"My dad doesn't seem to care enough about his job to keep it, so he's always getting fired, and they always rehire him for some reason. In the meantime, my mom has been working overtime and busting her ass to make sure bills can get paid. So she's paying all the bills and my dad's buying all the alcohol he can to keep himself numb to everything and it always end up in a fight between him and my mom. They've probably divorced four or five times- I seriously lost count. But Mom's about to lose her mind."_ The text explained, _"So while they're fighting about that /again/, Shelly's over and picking up some extra food that my mom had made, calling me twerp and douchebag and stuff."_

Carrie furrowed her eyebrows, "Do you want to spend the night at my place?" she offered "It's quiet."

Stan shook his head and typed, _"No, but thank you. I really do appreciate it."_

"I'm serious." She insisted. "My dad had a girlfriend that he couldn't stand so they were fighting every other night. I wanted to get away from it but I had nowhere to go. I totally understand if you do."

Stan looked at her for a while. Then typed, _"Are you sure?"_

"Of course." She reassured him.

Stan sighed and typed into his phone. Setting it down before eating some more fries.

"What's up?"

Stan showed her the screen on the phone. The messenger screen showed a conversation between him and his mom. _"I'm spending the night."_ was the last thing that was said. Prior to that was a response from his mom saying " _Okay, I understand, I'm sorry, hon…_ " prior to _that_ was Stan explaining, _"I'm going out. Let me know how everything goes so I can come home. I can't stand listening to you two arguing all the time. Don't call Kenny or Jenny, I won't be with them, I'll be with someone else. Either you two need to figure out what the hell you guys are doing with your marriage or get divorced again and stay that way because I'm sick of this."_

Carrie sank. The larger message was harsh, but she remembered saying something along the same lines to her dad. She nodded, "Okay."

Stan took the phone back and read the new text that had come in. He sighed and showed her the text, " _No, I need you to come home. Your dad went out and he's not coming back tonight, or at least I hope not otherwise I'm calling the police. Be home by 8, we need to talk._ "

Carrie sank, "I'm sorry. Keep me posted, okay? I'm here for you. And I'll send you my address." She looked at the time, seeing it was about seven-thirty. "Is there anything else I can do to help?"

Stan shook his head and opened Carrie's tab on his messenger, showing her the text, _"You've done plenty, thank you."_ He said.

She frowned, "I didn't do much, though, just offer food." She said.

Stan shook his head and typed, _"No, you helped me get out of the house and gave me a little peace of mind, and you backed me up against Bebe, and you didn't judge be because of something that everyone else but Kenny and Jenny look down on me for. You've already done more than I could really ask for someone I just barely met."_

Carrie smiled, "Alright."

 _"_ _A little bit can mean a lot to some people."_ Stan showed her with a smile.

Carrie smiled wider, "Anytime, Stan." She said, "Just shoot me a text if anything changes, okay?"

Stan nodded and gave her another smile before sighing and standing up, grabbing his bag. He waved good bye and texted into his phone, showing her one last message, _"Thank you for everything, seriously. Send me your address in case anything happens, okay?"_

"Will do." Carrie said after reading the text, "Again, anytime."

**I'll get to why Stan's mute in a couple chapters. Y'all might not like it but whatever, I'm here to have a good time, not to be attacked. I'm trying to make things make as much sense as I can, and if it doesn't it's because of plot. Plus, I don't want someone to lecture me on what does and doesn't make sense in South Park. Beware, more of this sentimental crap later.**


	3. Chapter 3

The following day was Friday, Kyle pulled his bag from his locker and slung it over his shoulder.

"Stanley Marsh!" a girl's voice shrieked down the hall, causing Kyle to jolt. Kyle turned and looked over, watching Bebe make a beeline straight for Stan, who was standing at his locker in absolute fear. She grabbed his collar and pressed him to his locker, "Your bitch girlfriend got me _fired_ yesterday! You hear me? Fired!"

Stan held his hands up wordlessly. Kyle rolled his eyes and closed his locker, walking to Bebe, "Bebe, come on, leave him alone."

"Oh- you're on _his_ side now!?" Bebe shrieked, "First he steals your girlfriend and now he makes me lose my job?"

"Just leave him." Kyle's tone was much firmer, "You were probably talking shit again." He said.

Kenny approached the three, "What's going on?" he asked defensively, dwarfed by Stan and Kyle's height, and barely taller than Bebe.

"Nothing." Kyle said, trying to pull Bebe away from Stan, who still had Stan in her grip.

"Nothing my ass, that bitch Carrie got me fired yesterday because of Stan!" Bebe growled.

"Stan told me you were talking shit about him and Carrie was defending him." Kenny argued.

"That's not what-"

Kyle yanked on Bebe's sleeve, forcing her to release Stan and made her look him in the eye, "Back off of Stan Marsh, _Bebe_." He growled, looming over her, intimidating her more than she would ever expect from Kyle Broflovski.

Bebe grew silent as she looked into his cold, green eyes, "Y-yeah…" she stammered, "Okay, sure." She cleared her throat.

Kyle let her go, "Now apologize, and walk away." He commanded.

Bebe turned to Stan, "Uh… s-sorry…" she said and walked off quickly.

Kenny watched, "Jesus Christ, Kyle, where did _that_ come from?" he asked, absentmindedly stepping between Kyle and Stan, who was adjusting his jacket and fixing the folds.

"I'm not in the mood for her crap right now." Kyle answered, "Later." He waved and walked off.

Kenny watched him leave in shock, then he shook his head and looked at Stan, "You okay?" he asked.

Stan sighed and nodded.

"So what was all that about?" Kenny asked.

Stan quickly signed to Kenny about the events of the day before, _"When I went out with Carrie yesterday, Bebe was talking shit about me to Carrie. Carrie told the manager and I guess the manager fired Bebe."_

Kenny nodded, "Sounds about right. She's talked shit to my face about me before. About time she got fired." He said, "Come on, let's get out of here." He threw an arm over Stan's shoulder and walked him off campus, "So, I forgot to ask- what happened with that talk with your mom?"

Stan rolled his eyes and signed, "They're getting divorced… again. This time mom's getting a restraining order against my dad so if he come anywhere near her, he'll get arrested." He sighed, "And he's going to rehab."

"Sorry to hear that." Kenny sank, taking his arm back.

..xxXxx..

Kyle walked home, checking a message he'd just received from Carrie, " _Did I miss any homework?_ "

"Not really. I mean, a few problems from the math textbook, and that short essay from The Stranger is due Monday if it isn't done yet." Kyle answered, he plugged in his headphones and started his music.

Carrie replied, " _Essay's already done. Which problems from the textbook?_ "

"Odds from 15 to 35 on page 235. That's it. Not too bad, all things considered."

" _Yeah, that's pretty good._ " Carrie agreed.

"How are you feeling? You called in sick, didn't you?" Kyle asked.

" _Stuffy. I seriously regret sleeping without a blanket._ "

"That sucks. Have you eaten any soup?" he asked, skipping the next song.

" _No… I actually ran out a while ago._ " She answered.

Kyle furrowed his eyebrows, "Then what have you eaten today?" he asked.

There was a long pause, " _Actually, I don't think I've eaten anything today._ "

Kyle stopped in his tracks and stared at the text, he almost told her to get up and find something to eat, but then he paused, remembering what she did for Stan the day before. "Where do you live, I'm bringing you soup."

Her response was immediate, " _No! You don't have to do that!"_

"I insist, what's your address?"

" _No, seriously, don't worry about me._ "

Kyle couldn't help but to smile, "This is the least I can do for warning me and the others about Trent. Serious, we'd be screwed if we didn't know he was coming."

Carrie took her time before sending him an address, " _Okay… I guess that's fair. I'll pay you back, I promise._ "

"Don't sweat it." Kyle texted, then he added a second text, "I'll let you know when I'm on my way."

" _Okay… thank you._ "

Kyle smiled at the text and walked into the front door, dropping his bag at the foot of the couch and walking straight into the kitchen. He took out one earplug and started scavenging around the cabinet.

"Hey, Kyle, how was school?" his mother asked, sitting at the table, glancing up at noticing her son rummaging through the kitchen, "I can make you lunch if you'd like." She rose an eyebrow.

"Nah, it's not for me." Kyle shook his head, pulling out a can out chicken noodle soup, "A friend stayed home sick from school and apparently she hasn't eaten anything all day."

"Oh-! Oh…" Sheila's expression changed entirely, "A girlfriend, I presume?" she asked with a smug smile.

Kyle rolled his eyes and retrieved a second can, ignoring the chime from his pocket, "No, Mom, I just met her a couple days ago." He said, "She's the new girl."

Sheila shrugged, "Okay, bubby, whatever you say." She said, watching him go to the fridge, "What are you looking for now?"

"OJ." Kyle hummed, bending over to see into the fridge.

"We ran out this morning." She said, "Ike took the last glass for breakfast. We can run to the store real quick to grab more." She offered.

Kyle pulled his wallet from his back pocket and checked the cash inside, "Yeah, we'll do that…" he nodded and tucked the wallet back, closing the fridge door.

"And we'll grab some more soup, too." Sheila stood up and grabbed her purse.

"Mind dropping me off at her place? I have her address." He said.

"Of course, hon."

..xxXxx..

Carrie laid on the couch with a blanket covering her from the shoulders down, a nearly-empty roll of toilet paper sat on the coffee table beside a grocery bag full of used 'tissues' she had pulled from the roll. Her eyes burned, as did her throat and her upper lip. Her nose was stuffed, her head was congested and her mouth was dry. She stared blankly at the main menu of the anime DVD she had no memory of finishing. There was a knock on the door that she barely registered. "Come in…" she croaked. Then she sighed in frustration, knowing that whoever her visitor may have been (more than likely to be Kyle), surely didn't hear. She groaned and flopped off the couch, shuffling to the door and unlocking it. She opened the door and looked at Kyle miserably, she had her blanket wrapped over her shoulders and draped over her body.

Kyle couldn't help but to chuckle, "Oh my God- you look like shit." He smiled and put his hands on her shoulders, making her walk back to the couch. He closed the door behind him. "How are you feeling?" he asked, glancing at the television.

"Like shit." Carrie confirmed, "No- you hit the nail on the head there." She said.

Kyle made her sit down, "I bet." He kept his hands on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

Carrie never realized until now how green his eyes were. He hummed and felt her forehead, "Yeah, you're warm." He said and straightened up, "Good thing it's the weekend, huh?"

She rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Mind if I used your kitchen?" he asked, pointing behind him with a thumb, the grocery bag hung from his elbow.

"Go ahead." She waved at the archway.

Kyle nodded, "Okay, I'm going to make you some soup." He started, walking off, "And my mom sent me with some stuff for honey-lemon tea. She says that really helps with a sore throat." He called out, "And we got you some orange juice, too."

Carrie sat on the couch listening to him, touched that he went _that_ far. He said he was only bringing soup- nothing about tea or juice. It made her feel… uncomfortable. Almost like he was trusting her too quickly. She stood up and dropped the blanket, walking to lean in the archway of the kitchen. She watched Kyle take groceries out of the bag and set them on the counter. At least four or five cans of soup, two different boxes of tea, a bottle of honey, a lemon, and a jug of orange juice.

"Chicken noodle or-" Kyle turned around and called, thinking she was still in the living room, when he saw her, he froze and turned back toward the counter, his face turning bright red and he squeezed his eyes shut. "Sorry…" he grunted, he closed his fists, his knuckles turning white on the counter. "I eh- D- um…" he stammered, "C-Carrie?" he cleared his throat, "Where are your pants?" he asked.

Carrie thought for a moment and looked down at her bare legs and blue and white underwear. "Uh… shit…" she wobbled, "Sorry." She apologized, "Yeah… uh… let me go get some shorts or something…" she started for the dryer downstairs in the basement. After realizing that the dryer was still running, she found a pair of red basketball shorts with black stripes going down the sides in a clean laundry basket that she had yet to put away. She pulled them up and went back upstairs, coughing into her elbow as she closed the door.

"Carrie, go sit back down." Kyle called out.

"Okay." Carrie mumbled and sat at the dining table, facing him.

He looked up at her and rolled his eyes, "On the couch." He clarified.

"I'm already here." She argued.

Kyle sighed, "Alright… Chicken noodle, or beef and potato?" he asked.

"Chicken." She answered.

"Okay." Kyle shook the can and found a saucepan, opening the can and pouring it in.

Carrie was silent for a while, watching Kyle's movements with skepticism. "Why are you doing this? We just barely met." she asked.

"Why'd you help Stan yesterday?" Kyle answered with another question, "I can imagine he's thinking the same thing."

Carrie sank and turned red, suddenly feeling like she did something wrong. "I couldn't just _let_ her keep talking about him like that. And he was having a rough enough day. But… y'know- _someone_ had to defend him. It wasn't like Kenny or Jennifer were there to do it."

Kyle was silent for a moment while he stirred the soup. Then he nodded to confirm her statement. "You helped a total stranger." He said, "You barely met us a couple days ago." he said, "And you say _someone_ had to help him, because no one else was around to do it. That's what I'm doing." He said.

"You're returning the favor?" she asked in disbelief. "I thought you didn't _like_ Stan." She said.

"Don't put words in my mouth." Kyle said defensively, "All I'm saying is that since no one else is here to take care of you, then I will. _Someone_ has to." He said.

Carrie froze, seeing the way he used her own words against her. Then she looked down and turned red.

"Soup's done." He announced and poured the soup into a bowl, stirring it around for a brief moment before handing her the bowl.

She slurped some of the soup and nearly melted in her seat from the warmth that flooded her body, "Thank you… seriously." She said and continued to eat.

"Of course." He rested his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his palm. He focused his gaze on the table, trying not to stare at her and make this visit awkward or uncomfortable for either of them. Behind him, a loud, buzzing noise blared its way through the basement door. Kyle jumped and hit his knee on the underside of the table, Carrie had lifted her bowl just at the right moment. She snickered at the reaction. "What the fuck was that?" Kyle asked, his voice cracking.

Carrie giggled, "I have a washer and dryer in the basement." She pointed behind her with a thumb, "I was running laundry before you came over." She wiped her mouth free of some chicken noodle soup, "My dryer buzzes when it's done running." She said, then she frowned, "I bet the jeans aren't dry yet…" she grumbled.

Kyle stared at the basement door for a moment, "Why is there a slide lock on the door?"

"To keep the troll locked down there." She said emotionlessly.

Kyle gave her a blank look, then nodded, barely accepting the possibility.

"I'm just kidding." She grinned, then she stared down at her soup, "I _am_ the troll in the basement." She said.

Kyle scoffed, "Okay…" he shook his head with a smile.

"Really? That's it?" she asked. "I thought I'd get _some_ sort of reaction out of you…" she finished her soup.

Kyle shrugged, "I've seen so much crap, I wouldn't have been surprised. I've gotten numb to the weird shit…" he said.

Carrie nodded, "Fair enough… I remember giant guinea pigs and Mecha-Streisand." She shrugged, "The Jersey invasion… Aliens…" she listed.

"All of which I was involved in… in some way…" Kyle said, "I've seen the realm of our imaginations… dealt with Al Gore and his Manbearpig obsession. Which…" he thought for a moment, "Cartman only recently mentioned that that thing killed me for a few minutes and he revived me…" he stared at the table, "Huh…" he shook his head, "Um… I met Cthulu, and watched…" he paused, staring off into space, "Holy shit, what kind of childhood did I have?" he asked himself, brushing his hair back.

Carrie shrugged.

He shook his head, "Fuck, I'm looking back at all the shit the guys and I have done and I'm… _horrified_ …" he said, "It's a _wonder_ I'm still- Kenny's immortal…" he dropped his hands.

Carrie watched him for a while, watching him process the things he'd been through. "You okay?"

Kyle stared at the tabletop, "I guess?" he looked up at her, "Whoa- are _you_ okay?" he asked, "You're really pale." He leaned forward. "Come on, you need to lie down." He stood up and helped her out of her seat.

Carrie coughed into her elbow, leaning away from Kyle, "I'm sorry…" she croaked, "I don't wanna get you sick…" she groaned as she walked with him.

"I don't care, just lie down." He sat her back down on the couch.

"Okay…" she leaned back. "Make yourself some food." She said, "I insist, seriously. Anything you want. Make yourself a steak for all I care." She mumbled.

Kyle chuckled nervously, "I'm not going to raid your kitchen." He said.

"I'm telling you to." She said "You fed me, let me…" she glared at the ceiling for a moment, "Let me provide you food so you can feed yourself." She said. "I'll feel bad otherwise."

Kyle's stomach growled, sealing her argument. He sighed. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, eat something dammit…" she said grumpily, "You're so skinny."

"Not as skinny as Kenny." Kyle straightened up and set his hands on his hips.

"And you can bet your ass I'm feeding him when he comes over tomorrow." She said. "If Jenny doesn't feed him first." She said. "Go get some food, Kyle."

"Okay, I will…" Kyle sighed, "Jus get some rest, okay?"

"Mm-hmm…" Carrie nodded.

Kyle turned and started back for the kitchen.

**Yeah… so I'm cutting this chapter shorter than I initially intended for it to be, it was going to end for later that night, but I've spend _way_ too long on this scene, so I'm just dropping it and wrapping it up at Kyle going to feed himself. By the way, if anyone thinks Carrie is a "raging Mary Sue", don't just say _that_ and not give me any reason as to why. Seriously, I got a review saying "Your character is a raging Mary Sue. Just sayin'" and absolutely nothing else. I'd ask for the reviewer (you know who you are) to elaborate, but they reviewed as a guest. Tell me why Carrie's a Mary Sue. Please, if she's generic as crap with nothing special about her, I don't care. It's South Park, my standards are _not_ high when it comes to OCs. Just tell me why Carrie's a Mary Sue and I'll try and develop her a little more (granted two chapters isn't really much development in my opinion when it comes to OCs), and by that extension- tell me why Jenny may a Mary Sue since _she's_ an OC I made for all this and she'll be in the next chapter. Sorry for the long author's note… That review irritated a little more than I expected.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Soooo... a lot of shit happened since the last time I updated this story... But long story short, I lost some family, I lost a friend, there were a couple of hospital/urgent care visits, a car with problems, famiy moved to Alaska, I moved a couple times, I got married, had a baby, lost Microsoft Office b/c Office 365 sucks (that said, I'm actually using WordPad rn and I hate it because it doesn't have friggin' spell check), aaaaaand... I have literally dozens of other stories that I get distracted with and only a couple of those are more fanfiction, so... I'm not making any promises as far as updates go. Someone messaged me recently asking me to continue this, I reread the fic, shoved my head back into the South Park tags on Tumblr, so there's that.**

By the time Carrie woke up, the morning light flooded the room and Kyle was nowhere to be found. She reached for her phone to check the time and found a paper towel folded underneath with a note written on it.

 _You were asleep by the time I was finished making food. My mom came to pick me up and I didn't want to wake you. Let me know how you're feeling when you wake up. -Kyle_

She smirked and unlocked her phone, sending Kyle a quick text and telling him that she was feeling much better. She yawned and rolled to her back, closing her eyes again. When her phone pinged, she jumped. She squinted to read the text:

 _"What time do you want us to head over?"_

Carrie furrowed her eyebrows, glancing up to check who it was. Upon reading that it was Jennifer, she grunted in response and replied, "I just woke up, but I'm good whenever." She let her phone plop down onto her chest as she stretched.

 _"Okay then. I'll drop by Kenny's and grab him real quick. Stan's already with me. I guess his dad came back home and his mom rose hell. He didn't get much sleep. He just doesn't want to be at home right now."_

Carrie frowned. "He's welcome to nap here. You guys eat yet?" she sat up and walked down the stairs to her basement, hoping to dig for a fresh set of clothes.

 _"Stan says thank you. And, no, we haven't. We were thinking of stopping at McDonald's to grab some mcmuffins. You want anything?"_

Carrie shrugged, "Sure, unless you guys want me to make something? I was going to offer fried egg sandwiches. Which... is... basically the same thing, when you look at it..." she pulled up a pair of sweatpants and pulled on an old, university sweatshirt.

 _"Lol whatever you want to do."_

"How hungry are you? If you guys are hungry now, I can do lunch later." she shuffled back upstairs, preparing to clean up the kitchen from the night before.

 _"Sure, sounds good. We'll see you in a bit."_

"See you then." Carrie furrowed her eyebrows, realizing that everything had been cleaned up. "Oh..." she hummed.

Conveniently, she received a response from Kyle, _"That's good to hear. I cleaned up a little bit. Just the stuff from last night though."_

"I see that, thank you." she answered and yawned, returning to the living room and folding up the blanket she had left on the couch. After she put the blanket away, she finished getting herself ready then sat down and started scrolling through her phone, waiting for company to arrive.

Five news updates, and plenty of random posts later, there was finally a knock on her door. She got up and answered the door, being greeted by Kenny and Stan, both of which looking exhausted, and Jenny, who held a large paper bag from McDonald's and looked apologetic, "Sorry if it seems early."

Carrie shook her head, "No, don't worry about it." she stepped aside and let them in, "Ken, do you need more sleep?"

"My folks were fighting last night, too." he grumbled, followed by a yawn, "I'll be fine." he exhaled.

"You sure?"

"I'm used to it." he said.

"Kenny, you should try and get some more sleep." Jennifer insisted. "After you guys eat?"

"I'll be fine." Kenny shrugged.

"I don't mind." Carrie said, "I mean- Stan's gonna nap, you might as well too."

"And you need the sleep. You worked kind of late last night, anyway, with your parents keeping you up on top of it." Jennifer insisted.

Stan nodded, agreeing with the girls.

Kenny watched the three of them, "Do I look that bad?"

"I mean- not as bad as Stan-" Carrie started, "But pretty close."

Kenny sighed, "Fine. That... doesn't actually sound too bad... But after we eat, though, right?"

"Right." Jennifer and Carrie agreed.

"Okay."

"We can eat in here if you want. Or we can eat in the kitchen, I really don't care."

Stan signed something after tapping Kenny's arm. Kenny nodded, "He says that he doesn't want to make a mess in your living room. So... Kitchen, I guess."

"Okay. That's fine." Carrie led them to the kitchen and let them sit at the table. Kenny looked up at the counter, "That's a lot of soup." he commented.

Carrie looked at the several cans that sat on the counter, the soup Kyle had brought over the night before. "Oh- I was home sick yesterday and I ran out of stuff to eat. I accidentally let that slip to Kyle and he... kinda bought me a bunch of soup and brought it over. He also brought me some tea and OJ." she explained.

"Huh..." Kenny hummed, shaking his head and digging into one of the bags and pulling out two breakfast sandwiches for himself.

"I got two sandwiches for everyone." Jennifer announced, handing Stan two sandwiches. He didn't seem to care to hear about Kyle.

"So Kyle was over yesterday?" Kenny asked, "How'd that go? Did he say anything?"

"Ken, that's not really our business." Jennifer nudged him. "She can hang out with him if she wants, we're not her boss."

Carrie pulled a glass from the cupboard, "He didn't really say anything about Stan, if that's what you're asking." she said, "And after I told him he was skinny, he said that he wasn't as skinny as you were, that's kind of the extent of it." she poured herself some orange juice. "I mean- he questioned his childhood, and said that it was only fair that he helped me if no one else is here to take care of me while I was sick- considering I backed up Stan at McDonald's the other day." she shrugged. "Aside from that, nothing really happened." she sat down at the table across from Kenny, right of Stan, left of Jennifer. "He just fed me soup and made me get more sleep."

They ate breakfast quietly, once they finished, Carrie showed the guys upstairs and let them take the guest room, and even offered her room to one of them, which they politely declined. Once they were left alone, Stan looked up at Kenny and signed.

"What? I just wanted to make sure he didn't say anything negative about you."

Stan rolled his eyes, signing again.

Kenny sighed, "Yeah... sorry if I seemed passive-aggressive..." he watched Stan sign again, "Yeah, I'll apologize to her, too. After we get some sleep..." he brushed his hair back. "Who's taking the bed? Or..."

Stan motioned and insisted that Kenny take it.

"You sure?"

Stan gave him a blank look and signed once again.

Kenny rolled his eyes, "Fair point, but you know-"

Stan signed once more, but aggressively this time.

"Okay! Okay!" Kenny chuckled, "Don't go blaming me for a stiff neck."

Stan smirked and rolled his eyes, planting a hand on Kenny's back and shoving him toward the bed. He sat down on the floor while Kenny laid on the bed. They were both snoring within seconds.

..xxXxx..

Carrie met with Jennifer in the kitchen, who had begun doodling in a sketchpad. "Well, that's a weird story opportunity that I need to not do..." she shook her head.

"What's that?" Jennifer asked.

"Oh- my guest room only has one bed and they declined sleeping in separate rooms." Carrie explained, "You read fanfiction?" she asked.

"Plent- oh." Jennifer chuckled, "The 'only one bed' trope." she shook her head, "No, whenever they spend the night at the same place, they share one room, but one of them will take the floor. Usually Stan."

"Yeah?"

Jennifer nodded, "Kenny doesn't really have much of a bed. It's basically an old, twin-size mattress sitting on the floor." she explained, "And Stan's bed is a full size on a boxspring and a frame, so when given the opportunity, Stan will let Kenny take the bed."

"Huh..." Carrie sat down, "That's nice of him."

Jennifer smiled, then the smile faded, "Hey, sorry about Kenny earlier, it wasn't fair to put you on the spot like that."

Carrie shook her head, "Don't worry about it. Drawback of a neutral party, I guess." she said. "Kyle almost did the same yesterday. I asked him why he was helping me and he responded by asking me why I helped Stan." she shrugged, "He... he was actually just trying to prove a point."

Jennifer looked up, "What kind of point?"

"Someone had to help." she said, "Since it was just me and him at the McDonald's when Bebe was saying all that shit about him, I backed him up because no one else was there to do it. You and Kenny were busy."

Jennifer nodded, "Right..." she continued doodling.

"And... since at the moment I'm kinda living by myself, no one else is here to help me if something happens, so Kyle took it upon himself to take care of me."

"Which I think was really nice of him." Jennifer added.

Carrie looked up at Jennifer. "So... what's your standpoint on all of this? I mean- I know you're on Stan's side, but..."

Jennifer shrugged, "It's a misunderstanding. Kyle's just too stubborn to listen."

Carrie thought for a while, "So... what exactly happened?"

Jennifer stopped doodling and looked up, "What do you know?"

"Well, you're saying it's all a misunderstanding. The most I heard is that Stan cheated on his girlfriend with Kyle's girlfriend at the time." Carrie said, "So... he didn't cheat? Or... what is all of that. Stan didn't exactly deny anything when we were at McDonald's, he... kinda just admit it like that was what happened."

Jennifer put her pen down, "Stan technically didn't cheat, Emily did." she started, "Emily was Kyle's girlfriend at the time, but she's also Kenny's cousin. The problem is, Emily has cheated on every guy she's ever dated. Kyle wasn't an exception. Emily was at Stan's place, Stan told Kyle to come over because he didn't want things to go wrong with Emily, and when Kyle got there, Emily kissed Stan. It just- It looked bad. Kyle didn't give Stan the chance to explain, he told Stan's girlfriend so she broke up with him, and Stan hasn't... he hasn't spoken since. I guess this was about a year ago... I hadn't moved here just yet. This is all what Kenny told me." she said, "He said that Stan basically vowed to not speak again until Kyle was finally willing to listen."

Carrie was silent for a while, "If... if you guys want, I can try talking to Kyle."

Jennifer scoffed with a smirk, "Good luck." she said, "Again, he's too stubborn to listen."

Carrie shrugged, "Again... I can try." she repeated. "What're you drawing anyway?"

"Eh..." Jennifer tilted her head, "Some sort of kraken... thing, I guess..." she said. The messy sketch had faint lines scribbled in random places, between the bolded outlines of a giant squid wrapped around a ship, rough, chaotic waves crashing against the hull and washing away debris that appeared to have fallen overboard.

Carrie studied the drawing for a while, "That looks like it would be a tattoo. That's really cool."

"Too messy to be a tattoo, I think." Jennifer hummed, "It'd look really hairy."

"Unless you did segmented shading in the sketch lines." Carrie suggested, "Make it look kind of like a mosaic." she said.

Jennifer nodded, "Okay, I can kind of see that. Or if I left the ink blue and don't do it in black." she said.

"That'd look cool." Carrie agreed.

..xxXxx..

After a couple hours of talking and drawing, Carrie and Jennifer were finally met with Stan who looked significantly more rested than he did when they arrived. He pulled out a DS after sitting down and powered it on.

"Where's Kenny? Still asleep?" Carrie asked.

Stan nodded, then he tapped the surface of the table in front of Jennifer, catching her attention. Once she looked up at him, he signed.

"Oh, do you have WiFi?" she translated.

"Uh, yeah, here..."

Stan passed her the DS and let her input the WiFi information. Once he got his DS back, he fired up a game

Jennifer heard the game's music and paused, "Did Kenny bring Platinum?" she asked.

Stan shrugged, his eyes focused on the screen.

Carrie looked at the screen, "Oh, hey, I have Diamond, too." she said, "What pokemon did you start with?"

Stan held up his index finger and opened the menu, going to his party and handing her the device.

She read off the names- Torterra, Togekiss, Luxray, Glaceon, Lucario, and Palkia. "Nice." she smiled and handed the game back to him, "Let me go grab mine." she hopped up and ran upstairs. On her way to her room, she stopped herself before the ran into Kenny.

Kenny rubbed his face, blinking slowly, "Carrie..." he grunted.

"Hey. Did you sleep okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, thank you." he said. "Um..." he started rubbing the back of his neck, "Look, sorry if I came off a little-"

"Dude, it's fine..." Carrie cut him off, "Jennifer explained what happened, I understand. Kyle almost did the same thing to me yesterday by asking why I helped Stan, but all he was trying to do was prove a point. Don't sweat it." she said.

Kenny gave her an unsure, apologetic half-smile. "Okay then..." he took a deep breath, watching her wander into her room and shove aside piles of papers on her desk. "Hey- I've been meaning to ask, when exactly is Trent getting back?" he asked.

Carrie paused, "Wednesday." she said, "Wednesday morning... The police are dropping him off here." she said, "I wish they'd just transfer him to actual jail..." She picked up a silver DS off her desk, running her thumb over the smooth surface.

"Transfer?" Kenny asked.

"He aged out of juvee..." she said, "He turned eighteen a few months ago, processing just took a long time. But now it's all officialized and he's coming home."

Kenny nodded, And... I thought he was supposed to get out... about four years ago, what happened?"

"He stabbed a guy with a spork." she said, "In a sort of vital area, so he almost killed him. It bought him more time."

Kenny shook his head. "Damn, okay..."

Carrie checked that the DS was off, then checked the cartridge to be sure it was even the correct game. "You play pokemon?" she asked.

Kenny smiled, "Yeah, I brought my DS in my bag. It's downstairs."

**I'll update this as often as I get to it. Again, literally dozens of other stories I get distracted with, plus with the new baby, I'm only typing to this now b/c my husband needs sleep for work so I have the night shift where I have literally nothing else to do while I let my daughter sleep. BY the WAY! I probably spent a couple hours researching the boys' fucking ages because it's never actually specified who's older than who other than Stan being older than Kyle. Here's how it is, Stan is the oldest, being born Oct. 19, 1991, then Kenny at Mar. 22, 1992, Kyle, May 26, 1992, then Cartman, Jul. 1, 1992. Again, WordPad doesn't have spell check, it's 4:20 AM for me right now, so I'm tired as fuck, and ran out of shits to give, but I do apologize for any spell checks, grammar errors and inconsistencies. I had to open a notepad and write down frickin' notes so I can keep track of this shit. Anyway, night guys, and stay awesome, folks!**

***Noticed that my copy and paste from wordpad left this in a weird format so I came back to edit***


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